Too Much of a Good Thing
by SuperKirbyLand234
Summary: Wordgirl meets an alien chameleon named Glurk whose life she saves. After that, he decides to owe her a life debt for saving him. Wordgirl soon has to decide whether or not to enjoy the special treatment or tell Glurk that what he is doing in unnecessary and quite frankly unfair to him. (One-shot). (Keywords are "Debt" and "Slave").


(Disclaimer: I do not own Wordgirl; all credit goes to the original creators at PBS Kids, please support the official release)

(Side note: This is a one-shot. Also keywords in this story are "Debt" and "Slave").

~Too Much of a Good Thing~

Narrator: "It's another beautiful day in Fair City, the sun is shining. The birds are singing, and Wordgirl is flying around the city patrolling for any crimes in progress. Hey, you okay? You look kind of bored".

Wordgirl looked up towards the sky to address the Narrator, "Well I am. I mean, there's no crime happening today at all; I guess I'll just go home, Huggy is waiting for me so we can watch the 'Pretty Princess and Magic Pony Power Hour' marathon together", she said. As she turned around to fly home, she heard a loud whistling sound just outside the Earth's atmosphere; Wordgirl flew into space to see a meteorite hurtling towards the planet, or specifically towards the city. She braced herself in order to intercept it before it could smash into the city.

Meanwhile on the streets of Fair City, a mysterious person was standing in front of a hot dog cart. "Yes, I like one hot dog with extra green relish and mustard please", said the strange person in a thick syrupy voice. Suddenly the meteorite came into view, "HELP! A giant meteorite is heading towards the city and it's going smash us into pieces! HELP!", shouted the Help Guy as he ran around screaming just like everyone else was. The strange person from before also saw the meteorite and cowered to the ground before suddenly vanishing; just as the meteorite was getting closer, Wordgirl flew in front of it and used her super strength to slow it down.

The townspeople looked and saw that Wordgirl had stopped the meteorite from destroying them.

"Wordgirl saved us from the meteorite!"

"Hooray!"

"Three cheers for Wordgirl!"

Wordgirl smiled and blushed as the people cheered her name over and over before she punched the meteorite back into space where it flew into the sun and broke apart, "No thanks are necessary everyone, I'm doing what do best. But nonetheless, your very welcome", she said. The people continued to cheer before they left; Wordgirl smiled but before she could leave, she heard a voice. "Oh thank you so much for saving me". Wordgirl looked around but didn't see who spoke to her, "Um...who said that?" she asked. Suddenly a strange creature appeared in front of her; it looked like a blue chameleon, but it was the same height as her and instead of having eyes that moved in different directions every second, it's eyes stayed in one position like regular eyes did.

The tall chameleon also wore a red necktie and green shorts, it had normal hands with claws and a long curled up tail. Wordgirl was startled when the strange anthropomorphic chameleon suddenly appeared in front of her, "Oh I am sorry for frightening you. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Glurk, that is short for Glurken Dubit Norgum Oppus III, but you can just call me Glurk. I'm came from the Planet Chameleonia, which is a planet outside of your galaxy. I came here for my vacation when that meteorite came out of nowhere and almost crushed me, but you saved me. What is your name so that I may properly thank you", he said. Wordgirl stood dumbstruck before she answered, "Oh my name is Wordgirl and you don't need to thank me really, I was just doing my job as a superhero. I help people when they are in need, and that includes galactic tourists such as yourself", she said.

Before she could fly away, Glurk grabbed onto her cape. "Wait you cannot leave! You saved Glurk and according to Chameleonian Law: if a Chameleonian is saved by someone, they must repay their savior by any means necessary. You saved me, Wordgirl so now I must do what I can to repay you for your kind and selfless action", he said. "Oh so your saying that you owe a debt for rescuing you", said Wordgirl. When Glurk tilted his head in confusion, she did what she does best: define the word. "Oh see, a 'Debt' is a feeling of gratitude for a service or favor. A good example is because I saved you, your planet's laws state that you must owe me a debt, but Glurk I don't feel like that is necessary because I save people because it's the right thing to do, not because I expect something in return", she said.

Glurk then looked up at her with big teary eyes, almost begging her to reconsider; Wordgirl felt a twinge of guilt when she saw his expression, "Awwww, how could I say 'no' to a face like that? Okay Glurk, I guess it wouldn't hurt if you repaid me a little. I mean it is a law on your home planet and as a superhero, I will always uphold the law no matter what planet I'm on. Just don't get carried away, alright? Well, I gotta get home now; I'll see you later, goodbye", she said. She finally was able to fly away just as Glurk pulled out a camera and took a picture of her, "This is gonna be the best vacation ever".

The next morning, it was a slow day at that First National Bank before the front doors burst open loudly. "Alright everyone, hand over all the money and no one gets squirted with ketchup". It was Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy who was robbing the bank once again, but just as always, Wordgirl and Captain Huggyface arrived to stop him. "Hold it right there, Chuck. You're going down", she said. Just as Chuck fired a blast from his Condiment Ray, Wordgirl heard a snapping sound and saw Glurk standing behind her with a camera; she was distracted long enough to get cocooned in mustard, "Ugh...Glurk, what are you doing here? I'm in the middle of stopping a crime", she said.

Glurk looked at her in confusion, "Oh I'm sorry, but even though I must owe you a debt I'm still on my vacation and I must take pictures for my scrapbook. If you want me to leave, then I'll go wait outside until you're finished", he said as he walked outside and sat down on a bench. He sat there placing the new pictures into his scrapbook, all the while hearing the sounds of the battle inside the bank. After a few hours, the police finally came and took Chuck away; Glurk looked and saw Wordgirl walk outside looking very exhausted, "Oh you've finished already. And my you look very tired indeed", he said.

Wordgirl panted heavily before she spoke, "Well...yes, yes...I am. I'm going back to my spaceship hideout to recuperate, c'mon Huggy let's go home", she said as she was about to fly away, but Glurk grabbed onto her cape again. "Wait I wish to accompany you to your secret spaceship, I promise not to tell anyone where it is. Consider that part of my mission to repay you", he said. Wordgirl sighed and grabbed Glurk, carrying him and Captain Huggyface back to her spaceship. Glurk excitedly pull out his camera and began taking pictures, Wordgirl tiredly threw herself onto her couch while Huggy went to the steam room. Glurk saw that Wordgirl was exhausted, so he decided now would be a good time to uphold his debt to her.

He walked into the room, "Wordgirl would you please lie down on your stomach?" he asked. She did as he asked and laid on her stomach; he lifted her cape to the side and began massaging her back, she tensed up for a minute before she finally relaxed. "Wow, you're really good at this. This feels really really great", she said. Glurk smiled, "Well back on my home planet I work at a spa and because of me a lot my people love to come so they can unwind and relax", he said. Huggy walked in and looked on the scene in confusion, "It's okay Huggy, I saved Glurk and now he wants to repay me; I told him I'll allow it as long as he doesn't take it too far", she said as she closed her eyes and relaxed.

An hour later, Wordgirl woke up and saw that she was lying on her couch with a blanket draped over her; Huggy was sitting near her reading a book, when he noticed her wake up. "Oh hey Huggy, how long was I out?" she asked. Huggy squeaked ("For about an hour; Glurk went into the kitchen after you fell asleep"). Wordgirl stood up and walked into the kitchen and saw Glurk making a sandwich, "Hey there Glurk, what are you doing?" she asked. Glurk turned around and smiled, "You fell asleep while I was giving you a massage, and I thought you'd be hungry after you woke, so I made you lunch", he said. He presented her with a ham and cheese sandwich, with toasted bread, a side of potato chips and a glass of milk; Wordgirl was surprised to say the least, but she still picked up the sandwich and took a bite. "Wow this is delicious! What's this pink sauce on the sandwich though?" she said. "That is my own special sauce for sandwiches, my mother had taught me how to make it. As part of my mission to repay you, I made you only the best to enjoy for lunch. I also swept the floor, dusted your collection of villain memorabilia and cleaned the bathroom; is there anything else I can do for you?", he said.

Wordgirl shrugged and said, "Um...no thanks, I actually have to get home. You see, I have a secret identity that I live as when I'm not stopping crime. You can stay here if want, but please don't follow me to my house because the last thing I want is for my parents to see I'm friends with an alien chameleon and suspect something", she said. Glurk nodded in understanding as she and Captain Huggyface left the spaceship, "I must find other ways to repay Wordgirl for her kindness", he said to himself. That's when he spotted a backpack on the ground, he opened it and saw that it was a school bag because inside he saw papers that were labelled 'Math Homerwork' and other subjects. "Becky Botsford? That must be Wordgirl's secret identity and this must be her school work; ooh, I know what I can do now! I shall complete her assignments for her since she had forgotten it", he said as he sat down and began to complete her homework.

The next morning, Becky had realized that she had left her backpack at her spaceship hideout and she had no time to get it back as she was already halfway towards her school, "What am I going to do, Bob? I don't have my homework with me and I've never missed an assignment. Oh this is bad, really bad", she said. Bob squeaked a reply ("Maybe you can fly back quickly and go get it"). "No, I don't have enough time. Oh man, I can't believe I'm going to fail on these assignments", she said in a panicky tone. "Never fear, my savior! For I shall assist you once again", said a voice. Becky looked around to see where the voice came from when Glurk suddenly materialized from the fence she was walking alongside; Becky let out a small scream as he had surprised her, "Ugh, Glurk! Don't do that, you nearly scared me half to death", she shouted.

Glurk had an apologetic expression, "My apologies, but you were having a crisis. Rest assure that I have the solution, I have brought you your satchel containing your school work, which I completed for you. I apologize if the picture for your Art Class is a bit crude, I'm not much of an artist myself; now your Mathematics assignment, you'll be happy to know that each question has been answer completely and correctly", he said handing her the backpack. Becky gratefully accepted the bag and hurried to school so she wouldn't be late; Glurk on the other hand, went into town to continue his tour of Fair City as part of his vacation. He decided to stop by the jewelry shop to see what kind of precious minerals Earthlings used to make them.

As Glurk walked inside, he saw that the shop was being robbed again by the Butcher. "Alright pal, hand over all those diamonds and stuff, and you won't get beefed", he said. Glurk walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, "Excuse me, Earthling. Do you mind if I ask the shop owner about the precious minerals used to make the jewelry? On my home planet, we make all our jewelry using Moon Crystals and Volcanic Rubies; luckily the volcano only erupts every one thousand years so its safe to harvest the rubies", he said. The Butcher, needless to say, was very confused. "Uh...okay I have two questions: (1) Who are you and (2) Where's Wordgirl? I'm robbing a jewelry store here and this is usually the part where she shows up and tries to stop me, but instead some weird lizard guy shows up", he said.

Glurk laughed and said, "Well I am Glurk, I'm a tourist on vacation from my home world of Planet Chameleonia. As for Wordgirl, she probably has not yet realized that you are committing a crime and that's why she isn't here. But since you're here, mind if I take a picture?", he asked as he took a selfie with the Butcher, "But since Wordgirl did save my life and I owe her a debt, I suppose stopping a criminal while she isn't here is another way I can repay her". Now the Butcher finally understood and he wasn't having it.

"Oh yeah, well take this: Pastrami Attack!"

Glurk swatted the meat away with his long tail.

"Oh well, how 'bout this? Sausage Cyclone!"

Glurk dodged the attack by climbing up the wall and again swatted away the meat with his tail.

"Wow you're good, but let's see you handle this: Kielbasa Crusher!"

This time, Glurk caught the rings of kielbasa with his tail and then flung them back at the Butcher, knocking him upside the head. He then grabbed the discarded links of sausage with his incredibly long tongue and used them to tie him up. He then picked up one of the discarded kielbasa and took a bite out of it, "Haha! I foiled you dastardly deed, villain whose name I don't know, and I once again found another way of repaying Wordgirl for rescuing me", he said. Just then, Wordgirl and Captain Huggyface had arrived on the scene. "Okay hold it right there Butch-uh...what is going on here?", she asked as she saw the Butcher tied up in sausages and Glurk standing near him eating a kielbasa. "Oh hey Wordgirl, I was robbing the jewelry shop when this lizard guy came in and stopped me. Is he a friend of yours? I assomed so since he said he was doing this to repay you", said the Butcher.

Wordgirl wore an expression of confusion, "Okay Butcher, first off it's 'assumed' not 'assomed'. Second off, Glurk what are you doing interfering in matters that require my presence?", she said. "Oh I did it to repay you again. Remember you saved me and so I owe you a life debt, so I figured helping you stop a criminal", he said. Wordgirl let out an annoyed sigh, "Okay. You did stop the Butcher and no one was hurt, so I'll let it slide. But next time Glurk, tell me when you see a crime going on, don't try to stop it yourself. You could get hurt", she said. Glurk nodded and left the jewelry shop. Wordgirl handed the Butcher over to the police and followed him, "What shall I do next to repay you for your service, Wordgirl?", he asked. Wordgirl shook her head in frustration, "Look Glurk, I appreciate the gesture, but can't you go find something constructive to do?", she said.

Glurk though for a minute before he got an idea, "I think I know just what to do", he said before turning invisible and leaving. Wordgirl merely shrugged as she and Captain Huggyface flew away.

Later that day, Becky sat in her room reading a book when she heard a tapping sound on her window. She looked outside and saw Glurk hanging upside down while clinging to the wall with his hands and feet, "I have something to show you, come with to the forest", he said. She transformed into Wordgirl and followed him into the woods; when they stopped, Glurk pulled a tarp off of something. It was a six foot tall statue of her made entirely out of tree bark, "I have built you a tribute to honor you with. This is another gesture to show my gratitude towards my rescuer", he said. Wordgirl suddenly felt a mixture of guilt and frustration build up inside herself. She had finally had enough.

"Okay Glurk, this has to stop! I mean, it was okay when you gave me that massage, made me lunch and brought me my homework so I wouldn't fail in my assignments, but this...this is too much! You can't keep doing me these favors, its unnecessary and quite frankly you starting to become my slave and that isn't fair to you", she said. Once again, Glurk tilted his head in confusion. "Oh a 'Slave' is a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them, but you're not mine or anyone's slave! I said I'd let you repay so long as it doesn't go too far, but then it did when you put yourself in danger by fighting crime for me and now you built me a tribute like I'm some sort of queen or goddess. I'm sorry Glurk, but I don't care if its a law on your planet, I'm a hero and a hero would never force or allow someone they saved to demean themselves in a twisted form of gratitude. I'm sorry, but I no longer want you to repay for saving you", she said before flying away. With her super hearing, she could hear Glurk softly crying.

The next day, Wordgirl was once again flying through the sky patrolling the city for any crimes happening. Once again, it was a pretty slow day for crime and evil-doing. She hovered in the sky for a minute with a sad expression on her face.

Narrator: "Hey, are you okay? You seem a bit sad today".

Wordgirl looked up at the sky to address the narrator, "Well, I'm thinking about what I said to Glurk. Do...do think I was too hard on him? I mean, I was being honest and I wasn't trying to hurt his feelings or anything, but when I flew away I heard him crying. I'm wondering if I was a bit too harsh on him, he was just doing what his people have been doing for who knows how long, and I feel like I just show disrespect towards his home planet's laws", she said solemnly.

Narrator: "I think you did the right thing. Glurk is a nice fellow and he was grateful for you protecting him, but he took his gratitude a bit too far and as a hero, you can't have anyone act like your slave. You didn't do anything wrong, he needed to understand. And...do you hear something?"

Wordgirl then heard a loud noise near the ocean and flew over to discover that a construction ship was sinking and the workers were struggling to escape. She flew over and began lifting the workers onto the lifeboats so they could get to safety; she spotted one engineer with his leg caught under a beam, so she lifted it up so another worker could help him up and carry him to the nearest lifeboat. Wordgirl was about fly away when a support cable dislodged itself from the crane and wrapped around her waist, dragging her under the water. She was able to hold her breath before being pulled under, but now she struggled trying to get the cord off her and her face began turning blue.

Narrator: "Oh no! Wordgirl is trapped on a sinking ship and can't get free. Will she make it out? Or will she drown at the bottom of the ocean? Who can help our plucky young hero?"

Meanwhile, Glurk was sitting on the beach taking pictures of the ocean. After his dispute with Wordgirl, he decided to cool off and unwind by continuing to enjoy his vacation. For the most part, he had gotten over their little spat and was finding himself enjoying the sight of the blue ocean, especially since on his planet all bodies of water were light purple. He suddenly spotted the top of the crane on the construction ship slowly sinking into the sea and then all the workers paddling their way to the mainland. "Pardon me Earthlings, but what is happening?", he asked. One one the workers docked his lifeboat and said, "We accidently blew a hole in the ship's engine and it started sinking. Wordgirl came and saved us, but now she's trapped on the ship".

Glurk gasped in shock; he helped one worker out of his lifeboat before taking it himself and paddling as fast as he could towards the sinking ship, he took a breath and jumped into the water swimming deeper and deeper. He came across the ship and spotted Wordgirl with a cord wrapped her waist; she, herself was floating motionlessly as she had long since run out of air. Glurk began tearing apart the cord with his claws and razor sharp teeth; once he bit through it, he grabbed Wordgirl and pulled her up to the surface and into the lifeboat. He started paddling towards the mainland; he carefully lifted her out and gently laid her onto the beach before he started performing CPR, after a few minutes she coughed up some water and sat up gasping for air.

"Glurk, you...you saved me! You saved my life", she said. Glurk blinked in confusion before he smiled, "I guess I did! And according to another law on Chameleonia, if the rescued Chameleonian saves their rescuer, they no longer owe them a life debt. I have repaid you, Wordgirl, I no longer need to do anything else", he said. Wordgirl realized this and smiled, "Well I'm grateful for the rescue and I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings earlier, I know its the law on your home planet, but next time, just say 'thank you' when someone helps you", she said. Glurk smiled and gave his new friend a hug.

One week later, Glurk was preparing his small spaceship to head back to his home planet; Wordgirl and Captain Huggyface were there to see him off. "You sure you can't stay a little while longer? I feel like we just met and you're going back home", she said sadly. "Sorry but my home is Chameleonia and I was only here on vacation. I have to go home so that I can get back to working at the spa, but I promise to come visit on holidays; I keep a log of different holidays celebrated by Earthlings, so expect to see me next Halloween. Thank you for an exciting vacation, Wordgirl and thank you for being such a kind and understanding friend. Good-bye", he said as he boarded his ship. Wordgirl and Captain Huggyface smiled and waved as there new friend flew away. Huggy squeaked ("Do you think we'll see him again?"). "I have a feeling that this was only the beginning of our friendship, Huggy. C'mon let's go home", she said as they flew back home.

Narrator: "And so, Wordgirl learned a new lesson today as well as made a new friend. And Glurk learned that its okay to show gratitude for someone helping him as along as he doesn't take it too far. Thank you all for joining us for this exciting adventure of Wordgirl!"

~The End~

Author's Note: Here's another one-shot that popped into my head after I got back into one of my favorite cartoons. I hope you enjoyed reading it and I hope I can work through my other stories. Until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


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